Maybe, In Another Universe
by hotvause
Summary: Collection of short AU one-shots. All vauseman, though other characters may appear here and there. [Rating may change as we go on.]


_**maybe, in another universe…**_

A/N: this isn't the first collection of AU one-shots compiled into a multi-chap on this website, and I doubt it'll be the last, but I've got a few short ideas I've been dying to write. These are only short stories and this new fic doesn't mean I'm abandoning Bloodstream, the update for that will be posted shortly. Hope you enjoy, there's plenty more to come x

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_getting a tattoo for the first time and i'm freaking out because of my irrational fear of needles, so please keep talking to me because your voice is soothing au_

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"You got an idea of what you're after, blondie?"

This is a stupid idea. It's probably the worst idea she's ever had. But she's here now, despite the constant notion that she'll get caught. Though this is a place where no one would ever expect to see her.

There's a constant buzzing noise that seems to drown out the endless heavy metal music she can hear coming from somewhere at the opposite end of the room. She looks at the people that surround her and the sight does nothing to calm her nerves. A part of her wishes she'd brought someone with her, maybe Polly or Cal, but knows deep down that they'd probably find a way to talk her out of it. And this is something she needs to do, no matter how scared she is or how much she _knows_ her parents will hate her if they ever find out.

It occurs to her that this is probably the first time she's done something her parents would disapprove of wholeheartedly. The feeling that bubbles up inside her tingles a lot like excitement, with an underlying hint of dread nestled beneath.

If she focuses hard enough she can almost feel the people around her judging her. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, the plot-line of a chick flick; a sheltered young girl seeking some rebellion. Piper Chapman is a blank canvas in the world of body art, but not for much longer.

"Something small. Preferably where it can be hidden."

This isn't a very well-planned decision at all. Tattoos are a big deal, she knows that, she'll be stuck with it for life, but none of the events that have taken place in her life have been meaningful enough to turn into a tattoo. She hasn't been through anything overly life-changing, hasn't met anyone who has left a lasting impression. The walls around her are full from top to bottom with framed drawings and pictures of tattoos that have been done here in the past. It's impressive, but the sheer number of them only adds to her indecision. She is handed a folder full of smaller tattoo ideas, some more beautiful and colourful than others, all of them varied in some way. Piper reaches a page that is full of animals shaded in with the brightest colours imaginable, and tries to picture them being painted on her skin for the rest of her life.

"I think I'll get a fish." She says determinedly, pointing at a bright yellow and blue one in the corner of the page.

The heavily-tattooed man at the counter barely reacts to her bizarre request, he's heard ideas that are a lot more weird and wonderful than that.

"You good to do it now? Seat at the back's empty." He asks. Piper nods, and the man calls out for another tattooist. "Hey, Vause, this chick wants one of your little fishies on the back of her neck."

_Vause?_ _Who the fuck is Vause?_

"What one?" A voice calls from behind a door that's been left slightly ajar at the back of the room. The voice is deep but beautifully female. To say Piper's shyness had increased tenfold would be an understatement.

A tall woman appears through the door and walks towards them to take a look at the drawing. "No problem, gimme five minutes." She responds, leaving an extremely intrigued blonde in her wake, eyes wide and unblinking as the brunette disappears once again.

Piper watches as she prepares the ink and needles and workspace with an air of confidence that intimidates the blonde beyond belief. When she's done she looks up expectantly, motioning with her finger for Piper to come closer.

She was a work of art in herself, with the way dark tresses cascaded down past pale shoulders, bare except for the straps on her tank top, exposing the inked skin of her upper arm. Piper found herself instantly wishing she'd asked to have her tattoo on another part of her body, just so she wouldn't have to turn her back on this mysterious woman and could stare for a little longer.

"I'm Alex," she says with a smile, lifting her glasses to rest upon her head.

"Piper."

She's surprised at how nervous she suddenly is, mostly because she knows it's nothing to do with her irrational fear of needles, but more the person doing the tattooing. This experience is just getting weirder with every minute that passes.

"Take a seat, _Piper_." Alex replies, patting the chair in front of her and smirking in a way that turns Piper's brain to mush. She likes the way her name sounds when Alex says it, it sounds like it's someone else's, like it doesn't belong to some boring little girl from Connecticut who wants to feel special and bad. She sits on the edge of the seat, fidgeting under Alex's intense gaze before she speaks again.

"Is this your first?"

"Yeah." Her small voice is shaky and she can almost feel her cheeks reddening as she speaks.

"Back of your neck, right?"

"Yeah."

Alex tilts her head to the side a little, smirk still gracing her lips while she stares at the blonde sceptically.

"You always this mono-syllabic?" She laughs and Piper's chest tightens.

She shakes her head more enthusiastically than intended. "I'm just nervous."

"Just don't pass out on me and you'll be fine. You won't see the needles anyway, it's cool."

"If you say so."

"Trust me, I've been doing this for a long time." Alex makes a spinning motion with her index finger. "Now, turn around. You're distracting me."

Piper turns around on the seat rather awkwardly as a tremor begins to build in her limbs, partly due to what the brunette has just said, and rather unprofessionally, ended with a wink. She's stunned to stillness when she feels Alex's hands on the back of her head. It's completely unnecessary, and slightly weird, but before the tattooist can stop herself she's pulling the long blonde hair up into a high ponytail, taking extra time and care to make sure every strand is tied.

(At least that's what she tells herself. Really, she just likes the way it feels between her fingers.)

"Ready?" Alex asks, snapping on a pair of latex gloves and cleaning the back of the blonde's neck. Piper jumps at the unexpected contact, causing Alex to laugh again. "What are you, a fuckin' pussy? You haven't stop shaking since you sat down."

She wants to say something like _yeah, well, you make me nervous. You're hot and intimidating and you're about to stick needles in me but it's okay because I like your voice._

Instead she just laughs timidly, facing downwards more to expose her neck once again. Alex moves a little closer, lips practically grazing her earlobe, her voice sounding impossibly deeper when it's in a whisper.

"Ready?" She asks again.

Piper makes a noise of agreement in the back of her throat, but brings everything to a halt when she hears the buzzing of the tattoo gun behind her.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to draw on me in pen first or something? What if something goes wrong?"

"Oh please, it's a fucking fish, hardly rocket science."

Alex presses the needle onto Piper's skin, and at first it's not too bad, but certain lines hurt more than others and when some time has passed and she starts to do the shading, the blonde squeezes her eyes shut so hard she begins to see stars. It feels exactly how you expect it to, it feels like the simple action of having a sharp object dragged across your skin, but every now and then the needle is replaced with a damp tissue to wipe the excess ink away, and it's a sweet relief. Piper can feel the warmth from Alex's fingertips through her gloves and it makes it a little better. Not a lot, though.

Alex is humming along to a song on the radio, a tune so unfamiliar to Piper, yet so comforting at the same time. It takes her mind off the pain; she closes her eyes and focuses on how Alex's voice makes her spine tingle in a scarily exquisite sort of way. The humming stops abruptly when the brunette's concentration increases, and Piper is suddenly without anything to focus on but the ache that's left behind on every inch of skin the tattoo gun touches.

"Please talk to me," she whispers, barely audibly, and for a second she thinks it went unheard.

"Why? Does the sound of my voice sooth you?" She's smirking again. Piper can't see her face but she can hear her tone laced thick with smugness.

"Something like that- _fuck_!"

"Yeah… That bit's gotta hurt. We're nearly done, I promise."

"Oh, thank God. I feel like I've been stung by a swarm of wasps back there."

"Okay, Miss Dramatic, it's not that bad…"

_It fucking is._

"Do you have one on the back of your neck?"

"No…"

"Then shut up."

It feels like the needle is going in a little deeper than before, and Piper wonders if Alex is doing it on purpose to get a reaction from her.

"God, you're feisty. I like that in a woman."

"Oh my God," Piper laughs in disbelief. "You're unbelievable."

"You told me to talk to you!"

"Yeah, _talk_, not flirt!"

"Oh, baby, if you think this is me flirting, you haven't seen anything yet."

The adrenaline coursing through her veins changes, morphs into something that feels a lot like confidence, with all the force of uninhibited bravery.

"That a threat, or a promise?"

Alex takes a while to respond, feigns concentration, but they both know she's just trying to find the right words to put her opinion across without scaring Piper away.

"Stick around a bit longer and you might find out."

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Their time together pretty much comes to an end not too long later, after the lecture on how to speed up the healing process and the whole _don't even think about going swimming until that's healed, I swear to fucking God, Piper._ The blonde can't help but feel she just shared a major event in her life with Alex, a shift has occurred within her and she suddenly feels like a whole new person for some reason.

Not just because of the tiny, brightly coloured fish on the back of her neck, of course.

Saying goodbye was never going to be that simple.

Alex hands her a torn piece of paper with her number on it, hiding behind this façade of nonchalance when really, she's so full to the brim with hope and nervousness it's a wonder she doesn't explode when she gets Piper's in return.

"Call me if there's any problems with it," she begins as a timid smile plays on her lips. "Or if you need any… _soothing_."

Piper leaves the tattoo shop approximately ten minutes later, finding quiet comfort in the stinging sensation on the back of her neck, a constant reminder of the day her life changed for good.

And possibly her sexual orientation, judging by the way she gets butterflies when her phone buzzes almost instantly and _Alex Vause_ lights up the screen.

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A/N: short but sweet, I hope! This was just to get it going, others will probably be a bit longer. Thanks for reading, let me know if you want more x


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